ITT defense chief Gaffney moves on

After 10 years at ITT Corp., Steve Gaffney, president of McLean, Va.-based ITT Defense and Electronics, has stepped down to take on a leadership role at a private-equity firm.

Taking the helm as interim president is 27-year ITT veteran Hank Driesse. It's a quirky case of déjà vu for Driesse, who headed the division from 2000 to 2005. It was then that he handed off the job to Gaffney before taking on the presidency of the company's fluid-technology business.

A search for a new defense business chief has already begun, said Steve Loranger, ITT chairman, president and chief executive officer.

ITT Corp., of White Plains, N.Y., ranks No. 16 on Washington Technology's 2007 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.